


Michael Jones: The Hybrid Story (Or How Michael Jones Found His Happiness, Ears and Tail In All)

by fryingpanofdoomwrites



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: F/M, Hybrid AU, It's Catboy!Michael, It's Rooster Teeth, Kinda, Language, Only Michael, what do you expect?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 10:11:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1814788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fryingpanofdoomwrites/pseuds/fryingpanofdoomwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael was different, ever since he was born.  He carried a rare gene in his DNA, a gene that science does not understand.  Michael carried the gene called the Hybrid Gene.  This gene gives animal like traits, such as ears and a tail to humans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Michael Jones: The Hybrid Story (Or How Michael Jones Found His Happiness, Ears and Tail In All)

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted to tumblr in five short parts, then moved here and all put together. The world is explained pretty much, but Michael is the only one shown to have Hybrid features. Based on padalickingood's AU.

Mrs. Jones had had two children before, so having a baby was really just a walk in the park for her now, however neither here nor her husband were expecting their little baby boy to have cat years and a tail. The Doctor looked at the baby and his parents with pity as he placed the boy in his mother’s arms.

But as she looked down at the little baby in her arms, she couldn’t help but smile. His cheeks were round and red from the screaming he had done when he entered the world, but it was his eyes that caught her attention the most. A pair of big brown eyes, looking up at her that were full of wonder and excitement. She place a kiss on his forehead and promised the little baby in her arms that she would always make him the happiest little boy ever.

Now, it wasn’t until much later that Michael noticed other people were different than him, around the time he started school. He came home in tears one day, a cut on his chubby cheeks, and one ear slightly bent.

“Mommy, why are the other kids so mean to me?” He asked as he curled up into his mother’s lap, cuddles always made everything better.

“Well hunny, they just don’t know what they’re missing…” She said, kissing his on each ear then his nose.

“They call me freak and weird…” The little boy mumbled, burring his face into her shoulder, tears pricking his eyes once again. Mrs. Jones didn’t know what to say to her son, so he held him till he stopped crying, and tucked him into bed when he fell asleep in her lap.

Years continued to pass, and Michael began to tuck his ears into some sort of hat everyday. He kept his hair as shaggy as his mother would let him and tucked his tail into his jeans or sweatshirts. He didn’t have many friends so he started playing video games and stayed on the internet.

That’s where he discovered Youtube and a group called Roosterteeth. As he continued through high school and college, Michael tried to keep his hybrid status under wraps as much as possible, and as his internet passion grew, he started posting videos of his own, which were known for their loud yelling, cursing and often rage quiting.

He graduated college, and got a job as an electrician, seeing as many companies don’t hire hybrids. He still made videos, and was becoming more involved in the Roosterteeth community. Soon Michael got an email from Jack Pattillo, a founder of Achievement Hunter. He wanted to interview him for a job with AH, content producer. Michael jumped at the opportunity and flew to Austin as quick as he could.

Michael was extremely nervous. He really never showed his face in his videos, and in the few that he did, he always covered his ear, but here he was in front of a pair of gates that had the famous Roosterteeth logo on them. One of the receptionists, Kara met him there and led him to the conference room, where Geoff, Burnie, and Gus were waiting.

Jack had told them that the three of them had wanted to interview him just like any other employee, though he would also record a few videos with Jack, Geoff, and another possible hire Gavin.

“Michael! Good to meet you. Love your videos.” Burnie said, shaking his hand.

“Thank you sir, that means a lot coming from you.” Michael said nervously, he could feel his tail twitching in the back of his sweatshirt.

“Please, just Burnie. We’d really love to bring you into the company and help produce content with us.”

“Jack sent us your stuff, and you really work well with your fans, and the yelling and rage quitting stuff is hilarious!” Gus said, sitting back down across the table from Michael.

Michael smiled at the older man, feeling his ears and tail twitch again from nervousness. He really hoped you couldn’t see from under his hat.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Geoff said slowly, “Is wearing the beanie like your thing or something? Cause you always wear one dude.” Michael started to pale at the mention of his hat, his ears and tail going stiff.

“Um, well…” Michael didn’t know whether to tell them or not, as his possible employers he really should but if he did he might not be hired. He’d never seen a hybrid in any of the Roosterteeth videos before.

He took a deep breath and pulled off his hat, his eyes down as he said, “I’m a hybrid. Seeing as it’s not a common thing, I don’t like to put myself out there that way.” There was silence for a moment, and Michael quickly put on his hat to hide his ears as they drooped.

“Okay, so anyway, we wanted you to record a couple test videos with the Achievement Hunter guys to see if there’s a chemistry and-“

“Wait, you guys aren’t going to kick me out, call me names and stuff?” Michael asked, genuinely shocked.

“No, why would we do that?” Geoff looked puzzled, mirroring the faces of both Gus and Burnie.

“Well that’s what normally happens when people see my ears…” Michael trailed off, not meeting any of the older men’s eyes.

“At Rooster Teeth, we don’t believe in hate like that. We just care about how well you work with us and the quality of work you produce.” Burnie said looking at the younger man across from him.

There was silence for a few moments before Geoff stood up and grabbed Michael by his upper arm and pulled him from the conference room to the AH office, with copious swears from the one be dragged.

“Gavin, Jack, that is Michael Jones. He’ll be filming a few videos with us today.” Geoff said, moving to his desk.

Jack and Gavin stood to greet the hybrid and shook his hand.

“So, what do we want to play lads?” Gavin said, in his cheery accented voice.

The four men recorded five videos together and Michael recorded a few by himself, which Geoff and Jack hoped would turn into a show called Rage Quit, that would really only work with Michael’s lungs.

About a month later, Michael had assumed that Roosterteeth had passed on him, deciding against hiring a hybrid anyway, when he got a phone call.

“Michael, there’s a man on the phone for you, I think it’s about that job you interview for last month.” His mom handed him the phone, winking.

“Hello?” Michael answered tentively.

“Michael! Great news!” Burnie Burns was on the line, “We want to hire you! How soon can you move down to Austin?”

Michael’s heart almost stopped.

“Wh-what?” Michael almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “Give me a week, I’ll be down there ASAP!”

Burnie said he’d email the rest of the details, and they’d sign a contract when he arrived in Austin. So, Michael moved to Texas, half way across the country and the first time away from home. It took him a few weeks to adjust, to the head and the new job.

The fans also had some getting used to, with the start of Rage Quit as an official show, and Michael pulling back from his own video channel to make more for AH.

Geoff hadn’t told any of the other employee’s about Michael’s secret. Gavin was hired a few weeks after Michael, the move for the Brit taking longer to process. About six months later, another guy was hired, named Ray.

“This is Ray, we’re going to be testing him out on a couple videos. He’s from the community, and I think we could start trying out Minecraft.” Geoff said, leading the younger man into the room.

Jack and Gavin met Ray, followed by Michael. Ray shook his hand, meeting Michael’s eyes before flicking his own to the hat on top of Michael’s head, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Michael was confused for a moment before loosing a bit of color. The day went on, and Ray moved to Texas. Roughly two weeks after Ray became a full time employee, Michael and the younger lad were in the office together, the others were out to lunch, but both of them needed to finish editing.

“Hey Michael,” Ray said, pulling off his headphones.

“What?” The curly haired man said, not looking away from his screen.

“When are you going to tell the others?” Michael froze, and slowly turned away from the screen to look at Ray.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ray rolled his eyes, and fingered his ears.

“My Aunt is a Rabbit hybrid. She always wears hats and clothes that hide her tail. I know the signs, they are all over you man.” Ray said, turning back to his computer.

Michael was silent for a long time, which really freaked Ray out, who was sure the older lad was going to kill him for even bringing it up.

“Don’t tell anyone or you are dead.” Michael hissed out finally.

“I won’t,” Ray said, “By the way, what are you?”

“A damn cat.” Michael muttered, mostly to himself. The peaceful day was then interrupted by a scuffle as Michael chased the laughing boy around the building.

Time continued on, and Ryan, a behind the scenes guy joined in the let’s plays bringing the number of guys to an even six. Ryan, being a father, noticed something about Michael immediately. He couldn’t quite place what the younger man was hiding, but he could tell something was off. It wasn’t until an AHWU where Gavin jumped on Michael, almost tearing this trusty hat off his head, causing Michael to run out of the office to make sure that he didn’t interrupt the recording, that Ryan finally figured it out.

He followed him to the bathroom, the door was firmly shut but Ryan knocked on the door, “Michael, you alright?”

The door opened quick with Michael looking pissed, his beanie slightly askew, “What do you want Ryan?”

The older man shrugged, “Just so you know, I don’t care but you should really let people you are friends with know.”

Michael glared at the Ryan as the older man turned to go back to the office. The hybrid readjusted his beanie, and rechecked his tail before heading back as well. The guys were just finishing the recording as Michael walked in.

“Mi-cool!” Gavin called to the redheaded hybrid. As far as Michael knew, if Ryan and Ray had figured it out, Jack probably did as well. The bearded man had mother hen instincts and this was confirmed as Michael was greeted with a wink. Gavin on the other hand, wouldn’t figure it out without Michael plain out telling him.

It was weird, having this many people know his secret that weren’t apart of his family.

More months passed by, and Michael started dating a girl named Lindsay, who worked editing videos for Achievement Hunter. On their first couple dates, Michael didn’t take her anywhere too fancy as to not take off his well worn hat, but he could tell she wanted to do something a little bit more romantic, so he asked advice form the Gents.

The Hybrid finally decided on making a home cooked, candlelight dinner for two. Everything was set up; the food actually didn’t taste too bad, not fine dining, but pretty good. He tried to look a little nicer, a dress shirt, some nice jeans, but still kept his beanie. Lindsay was pleasantly surprised when she arrived at the tiny apartment. About half way through dinner, Lindsay put down her fork and stared Michael in the eye.

“What’s with the beanie?” She asked, crossing her arms, “Are you going prematurely bald, weird haircut, embarrassed by the color? What’s the deal? I’ve never seen you without it.” Michael froze, fork half way into his mouth.

She leaned forward, hand reaching out to grab the hat of his head, but Michael jerked back, fork dropping to the plate.

“Don’t.” Michael said, dropping his normal brash persona for actual fear in his voice. He really liked her, and he was really afraid of losing her, “You won’t like it. I really like you Lindsay, I don’t want to lose you.”

Lindsay frowned, and moved her hand to his, “I really like you too, but I don’t like it when people I care about hide things from me.”

Michael sighed, and lead her to the couch, putting his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees, “You won’t like me. You won’t want anything to do with me, you –hey!” Michael stopped ranting as his hat was pulled off his head, ears sticking up in anger.

Lindsay just stared, very quiet while Michael looked anyway, but her face, “I told yo-“

“Shut up.” She said, putting a finger on his lips.

“They’re real?” Michael nodded.

“Do you have a tail?” Another nodded, followed by Michael reaching around his back to free his tail, which then wrapped around his waist to rest on his lap.

Lindsay was still very quiet, taking everything in before letting out a squeal and pulling Michael into a tight hug.

“Um…Lindsay?” Michael was very confused, he tried to pull away but the brunette was very strong.

“Do you know how much I love cats?” She said, pulling back slightly to look at his face.

“Really?” Michael raised his eyebrows, ears twitching slightly. He felt a wash of relief flood over him.

“Oh very much! I love them. Always wanted one. Now, I get a boyfriend, and a cat!” She giggled.

“Well, boyfriend yeah, but I don’t act much like a cat, I mean some things I guess, but mostly I just have ears and a tail.” Michael said, scratching the back of his head.

“It’s still good.” Lindsay said, leaning forward and giving him a peck on the lips.

Michael was very happy with his life. He had a girlfriend who loved him, a great job, and a good group of friends. He still kept his hat on at work, but when he was home, with Lindsay he was more relaxed.

There was a week, where Gavin who still didn’t know Michael was a hybrid, was out of town, at a convention with Geoff and a couple other Roosterteeth employees, meaning Michael could take off his hat and let his tail free.

Jack was sitting at his desk, editing a Trials episode, Ryan was at his desk in the warehouse and Ray was out to lunch. Michael walked in, turning on his computer and pulling off his hat as he started to sit down.

Suddenly, the door opened, “Hey Jack, guess wh-“ Michael and Gavin locked eyes. A string of curses went flying through the hybrid’s head.

“Michael…? Are those…cat ears?” Gavin couldn’t finished the question before Michael quickly pushed passed the Brit and quickly out the building to his car, tailing wrapping around his waist, beanie back on his head.

Back in the office, Gavin was sitting at his desk, extremely confused.

“So, those are real?” He asked Jack who turned around from editing.”

“Yes. And the other guys know. Geoff because of his interview with the company to start with, and Ryan Ray and I just figured it out. And I’m guessing he told Lindsay at some point.” The bearded man said, shrugging.

“So, why didn’t he just tell us? I mean, yeah, we brag on each other, but we’re not like that…” Gavin stood up from his desk and ran out of the office.

“Michael! If you’re still here, let’s talk!” The Brit said, looking for his friend’s car, but it was gone.

The next day, when Geoff and Gavin arrived to the office Michael was wearing his normal beanie, with the Mogar hat on top and sweatshirt, even though it was quite warm that day.

“What’s up Michael?” Geoff asked, moving to his desk. The red head didn’t respond, and Geoff looked to the others in the room, Ray shrugged and Ryan was setting up his stuff.

“Michael…” Gavin said softly, and when he didn’t get a response the Brit sighed and turned to his computer. The day continued on like this, Michael not responding to any of them, except for Lindsay when he brought him lunch, but even then it wasn’t much more than a kiss on the cheek and a thank you.

At the end of the day, Geoff went over to the office door and locked it. “Okay Michael, enough pouting. Tell us what’s wrong with you.”

“Geoff. Let me go home.” Michael said to the Gent, staring at the floor. Geoff shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Listen, if you’re going to act like a brat then we’ll treat you like a brat.” He said, leaning against the door.

“God damn it! What do you want from me you assholes!” Michael yelled sitting back down in his chair.

“For one, why are you ignoring us?” Ryan said, shifting on the couch. There was a pause of silence, “I’m mad.” Michael finally said.

“At us?” Gavin said quietly.

“At myself. For letting my guard down.” Was the answer.

“Listen dickhead, I don’t know about them but I’ve kept your secret since you applied for the job, you’ve been telling people, not me. So shut up and get over your pity party!” Geoff said, looking the younger man straight in the eyes.

“It’s not a pity party. It’s self defense.” Michael groaned, holding his head in his hands, “I’ve lived my whole fucking life as an outcast, a freak, so I put up fucking walls to keep people out. Keep out their words, their stares and their hate.” As he speech went on, his voice began to crack, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes.

“Michael? We’re your friends, why would we do horrible things to you?” Ray said behind him, outing a hand on the man’s shaking shoulders.

“Because I’ve never been able to trust people.” He said, quietly, pulling his Mogar hat off his head, which also pulled off his beanie. His ears were drooping.

“So, Michael, can I ask something?” Gavin said quietly.

“What?”

“How do your glasses stay on?” There was silence, before chuckles and giggles to full-blown laughter erupting from the group besides Gavin. Michael lifted his head, tears running down his cheeks, but eyes laughing, he pulled his glasses off and showed them to Gavin.

“They work like goggles.” Gavin said, inspecting the pair of glasses that had three straps attached to the sides that would normally sit over the ears.

“My mom had them made when I was a kid and found out I needed glasses.” Michael said, slipping his glasses back onto his head.

“Well, not will you stop ignoring us?” Geoff said.

“I mean, I do have job to keep. But no fucking cat jokes!” Laughter continued from the group.

Everything was going good for Michael. He finally had people who he could trust and rely on, that weren’t his parents.

And he was happy.


End file.
